RIPLEY — Last Tuesday, over 100 people gathered for the 18th Annual Tippah County Ole Miss Scholarship Fund Dinner. The event was held at First Baptist Church Family Life Center and was catered by Country Inn, Too of Ripley.

Despite guest speaker Ole Miss Defensive Coordinator and Assistant Head Coach Tyrone Nix not being able to attend because of an emergency, the night was a success as seven $1,000 scholarships were awarded.

Four Tippah County students were selected to receive scholarships prior to the dinner. Winners included Devan Hill of Falkner High School, Matthew Rainey and Jessica K. Graves of Ripley High School and Lisa Hudspeth of Walnut High School.

During the dinner, Shonda Davis, the group’s secretary, drew names and awarded three additional scholarships. Winners included current Ole Miss student and Ripley native Jonathan Nabors, Brad Windham of Ripley and Corey Bennett of Walnut. Recipients had to be an incoming freshman, a transfer, or current student at Ole Miss.

Jimmy Hill gave the financial report of the Tippah County Ole Miss Alumni Association and stated that the fund stood at $159,073 as of the 2009 fiscal year. The association raised $7,208 in 2009 and according to Hill is one of the top two funds in the state.

Kyle Smith encouraged all Ole Miss Alumni to get active in the alumni association. Those interested are asked to log onto www.olemissalumni.com.